How Merlin tricked Arthur
by firsttry
Summary: When Merlin tries to tell Arthur about his magic and it doesn't go as planned he has to resort to other means to achieve his destiny. This is just something that was floating around in my head for some days. Might not be very good but worth a try at least.


Merlin stood at the door. He knew it was time; with Morgana gone and Arthur comfortable in his role as king he knew what he had to do. Well, there had also been no evil sorcerers attacking Camelot in the last few months, so the conditions were perfect.

He was going to tell Arthur about his magic. Merlin could barely believe it. He had dreamt about doing it for a long time. Of course, he had prepared himself for all possible reactions – anger, sadness, acceptance and gratitude. He knew he was ready, he only hoped that Arthur would be ready too.

Taking a deep breath he opened the door and walked in. Arthur was sitting by his table and looking at some documents. He lifted his head when he heard the door open and looked at Merlin with question in his eyes.

"Sire, there is something I have to tell you." Merlin started nervously, fidgeting with his sleeve.

"Well, spit it out then, stop acting like a girl." Arthur said looking amused.

This was the moment of truth. After careful thinking Merlin had decided that the best approach would be to say it straight, so that Arthur would have no chance to misunderstand. So he said it: "I can do magic."

Merlin thought he had anticipated all Arthur's reactions. He had been wrong. Arthur's roaring laughter filled the room.

"Oh, that is the best joke I have ever heard! Your sense of humour has been improving over the years as I can see." Arthur said between fits of laughter. "You – the clumsy servant – a sorcerer!" The king looked very "unkinglike", with tears of laughter streaming from his eyes.

Merlin stared in shock. He had to make the king understand that he was serious. "I can prove it," he said. That got Arthur's attention and the king stopped laughing, though he still looked at his servant with disbelief.

Merlin sighed and held up his hand. With a glow of his eyes a flower appeared on it.

But Arthur still didn't accept what was in front of his eyes. "Why didn't you say that you meant magic as in tricks? That was a great trick, Merlin. Why hadn't you done it before? That would have made you popular among the ladies. In fact, teach it to me later, I want to impress Guinevere. But now leave me, as amusing as this has been, I still have some work to do." With that the king turned back to the documents.

But Merlin didn't want to accept this. He would prove to Arthur that he had magic, no matter what it took. He said a spell and Arthur along with the chair he was sitting on were lifted into air. Merlin made the chair float around the room a bit until he set it back to the floor. Then he turned his gaze to Arthur.

He could not believe it. The king was clapping and looked very amused.

"Bravo, Merlin! You will have to do this at the next feast we will hold. I don't care what preparations you will need, how many strings will have to be used to lift up the furniture there, this is too good to be shown only to me." Arthur clapped Merlin on the back. "Your magic tricks are great; you must have had a great amount of practice. When I have more time I will ask you to tell me all the secrets behind them. But now go, stop distracting me."

Merlin left the room in a daze. He went to his room and told Gaius about Arthur's reaction. The old man found it all very funny and could offer no advice on changing the situation.

Later that night Merlin lay awake in his bed thinking. How was he supposed to bring magic back to the land if his king didn't believe him? How can he prove Arthur that magic is good if he can't serve as an example of it? And then it hit him. He made plan and laughed quietly to himself. The prat had no idea what was expecting him in the following days…

"Sire, I have to talk to you. This is very serious and I would like you to listen to all I have to say before interrupting me." Merlin looked at Arthur with pleading in his eyes and tried to convey how serious he was. Due to their long years together Arthur understood his servant completely and nodded his head, letting Merlin continue. "Yesterday I told you about my magic tricks. The reason I was so afraid to tell you was because, by an ancient law of this kingdom, magic tricks are banned. I could get burned for what I showed you yesterday, Sire." Merlin finished his speech, expecting some reaction from Arthur. He didn't have to wait long.

"This is an outrage! The law is obviously outdated, it has to be changed. Write this down, Merlin." He threw a parchment at his servant. "I, Arthur Pendragon, the king of Camelot, hereby declare that magic tricks shall no longer be outlawed in this kingdom. Any person performing magic tricks shall no longer fear for their life. Now give it to me to put on the royal seal." Merlin quickly wrote it all down and passed it to Arthur. After signing it Arthur gave it back to Merlin and said "Make sure this is posted in the main square and pass the news around. No one should be afraid for their life because of doing harmless tricks."

Merlin was almost out of the door when he turned around and said "Sire, I had an idea." Arthur looked mildly interested. "Say it, I won't put you in the stocks if it is a good one. If it is bad, on the other hand…" Merlin smiled at the king's attempt at banter. "I was just thinking, the people of Camelot may have some prejudice towards people who do magic tricks. I mean, it has been outlawed for so long that people may have started to believe magic tricks are evil."

"Who would have thought it, Merlin, your thinking has actually produced some results! Let's make one more law. Take another sheet." While the king said this Merlin had already taken his place at the table and sat ready with the parchment. "I, Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot, hereby declare that any citizen of Camelot, if found guilty of harming or refusing help to another citizen due to his or her ability to do magic tricks will be put in the stocks and kept there until sundown." Merlin gave the parchment to be signed.

Then he plucked up his courage and spoke a third time. "But Sire, what if magic tricks are used to bring harm? Will the performers be punished more severely?" Arthur thought about it for a moment. "No, the punishment should fit the crime, not the method." Merlin cast a proud look at the king and sat with the third parchment. "I have already written the beginning – you, royal pratness, the king declare that…" Arthur sent an annoyed look at Merlin and said "I hope you wrote it properly, for your sake. But fine, continue it like this: the method used in the crime, for example, magic tricks, shall make no difference to the punishment. The punishment of the crime will be determined by the severity of the crime."

After getting the third parchment signed Merlin hurried out of the room. As soon as he was out of sight he looked over the writings. His eyes flashed gold and he rolled the parchments up.

The next morning the people of Camelot saw three parchments posted in the town square. They said:

"I, Arthur Pendragon, the king of Camelot, hereby declare that magic shall no longer be outlawed in this kingdom. Any person performing magic shall no longer fear for their life."

"I, Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot, hereby declare that any citizen of Camelot, if found guilty of harming or refusing help to another citizen due to his or her ability to do magic will be put in the stocks and kept there until sundown."

"I, Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot, hereby declare that the method used in the crime, for example, magic, shall make no difference to the punishment. The punishment of the crime will be determined by the severity of the crime."

And while the people of Camelot were puzzled about these changes, one servant smiled to himself. He had achieved his destiny. And if His Royal Pratness was angry, then so be it. Arthur had himself to blame. After all, he had told the truth, it wasn't his fault that the king was so easy to trick.


End file.
